Thursday, August 30, 2012

Good Morning!.....It's a beautiful Thursday morning and the last one before school starts. I'm trying to get ready for school like everyone else it but I can't believe how fast summer went by. Anyways, I found this old cheesebox at a garage sale and it was a nice large one and in good shape. Didn't really pay anything for it and thought I could store something in it. Here is the before picture:

Oops, I started painting the box before I took the picture, so I quickly took it before I finished it. I painted it pink, a girly pink and I was going to glue fabric on it, but it didn't look right. So I decided to add a doily on top and lots and lots of buttons on the top and the sides of the lid. It turned out kinda of feminine but was pleased with the end result. What about you?

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Happy Tuesday! Hope you are all well. I'm posting a tad late tonight.....due to a fun and busy day. We went to my sister's house for a swim today and then got a surprise visit from my sister-in-law and her kids. It's always fun to see them! The evening was beautiful and the kids rode their bikes.

I found these pieces of over-sized silverware at a garage sale last summer. I just think they are fun...and I know Pottery Barn used to sell them. I am not sure they still do....but when they did, they were quite expensive. Here's my find.....

I thought it would be neat to make them look like actual pieces of silverware. I happened to have a can of brushed nickel spray paint....so that's what I used.
Here they are.....I love them. They add a bit of character to my kitchen!!!

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Good evening! Hope your enjoying your weekend so far.....We're enjoying a heat wave around these parts! One last hurrah for the pool!! I found this mirror at a garage sale while up at my parent's camp. I think I only paid a dollar for it...due to a stain on it, although you can't tell in the picture. I attempted many times to remove it...but it wouldn't budge. I decided that it might be cute as a chalkboard since the mirror portion of was in mediocre condition.

I primed the mirror with some Kilz and then painted two coats of chalkboard paint onto it. Here she is after her make-over.

This was a quick and easy fix....the best kind, right??
Thanks for reading!!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Good Morning!!!!!! Been having a wonderful summer and hoping you have to. It seems a little too short for enjoying the warmth and sunny days.....I have been spending a lot of time at our cottage and having some fun with some projects that are just for up here. My husband picked up this wonderful retro-style table and chairs, but of course there is a project involved. The table has a light grey Formica top and wonderful curved legs, but the chairs needed some TLC. Here is the before picture of two of the chairs:

As you can see the chairs were a little bit of a project, but oh so worth it. There are 6 chairs. I first was going to reupholster the chairs all in a light grey to match the table top, like how they were supposed to be, but I changed my mind. I had stopped in a little shop in the Farwell area in Michigan and had found some wonderful oil cloth with lots of fun colors. Oil cloth is so nice because there is covering on top of the material that makes clean-up very easy. Anyways, the hubby said that I always have to put a spin on something, but oh well. I did use the light grey for the very back of the chairs and used the print on the seat and as welt along the top of the chairs. I scrubbed the chair legs lightly with soft scrub and a soft scrubby to get some of the rust off and they look wonderful.. A little elbow grease and some patience is all that it took.. I love them and what do you think?

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Good morning!! It's going to be another beautiful day in Michigan. The sun is shining and it's already starting to warm up. This project that I am going to share with you today is a makeover of a flea market find. I found this little wood tool box that has been used and probably stored in the garage or barn for years. I decided to paint it yellow, seems to be one of my favorite colors lately, and add the word simplify to both sides. I then sanded in a few places to give it a worn look. When I was finished I wanted to put it to a good use and I thought long and hard about it. I then discovered that all my little hard cover books for my little girl would fit inside of it. Seeing that she is only seven months old she probably won't appreciate it and carry it around till she is much older. None the less when we have nieces, nephews and friends over they know exactly where the little books are. They enjoy taking it off the shelf and choosing books to read. They then know exactly where to put the little books when they are finished with them. I hope you all enjoy your Wednesday!! Until next time...Jessica

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Hi!!! Good evening! Hope you had a great weekend! The weather has cooled off significantly around Michigan....and we've been enjoying our windows open and the air conditioner turned off. It's almost Labor Day and we've been trying to soak up all that summer has to offer. We hope to make a few more out of town trips before our summer days are officially over. Aaah...makes me sorta sad in a way. Summer is such a carefree and fun time....

Anyways...I do love signs...and I know I've probably already mentioned that before. I had this board lying around in our very organized garage(ha, ha..right....) and thought it might look cute with a quote printed on it. I cannot remember where I found the quote. I'm thinking it was most likely from pinterest. Here's the plain board before.....

I gave it one coat of primer and paint in one. I printed off the words using my cricut machine. I used contact paper to make the stencil. I chose to use different colors for the words and then used my sander to distress it a bit. I do love this quote... makes me smile!!

I hope you continue to enjoy your last days of summer.....
If you're reading....ThAnKs!!!

Friday, August 17, 2012

Good Afternoon, Everyone.......Here is an easy makeover and it was fun. Found these owls at a flea market and I thought they would really be fun done a little different that how they looked. I especially didn't like the eyes which seemed to just stare at you. Here is the before picture:

These owls were ceramic and I paid only a dollar for each one. I had a can of oops paint that was pink, so I painted the pink on the owls. I didn't spray them pink. When they were dry, I painted the owls with a gold acrylic paint that came from Michaels craft store. I really liked this particular gold paint, sometimes gold paint can be a little to dark , with maybe too much brown in it. This gold was truly a gold color. I wiped off the excess and stood back and decided to let them dry. After that out came the poly-acrylic to finish them off and to seal the paint. I really liked the end results and they were easy to do, just took some time.....

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Hello! It is Wednesday morning and I can feel it is going to be a great day! Heading to our booth today to re-organize and make everything look put together again. I LOVE how all of our pieces look after we put them together and give our customers ideas for how to use these things that we create in their homes. It is really a lot of fun.
Before I get going for the day I would like to share with you this dated, dusty, dreary old chair that I bought at an auction for only $5!!! Talk about a steal of a deal right? Everything on the chair was in perfect condition, it just needed to be updated. When I got this chair I was contemplating re-covering it, but then I thought I would attempt to just paint the wood on it a fresh, new, up to date color. So I chose gray because I LOVE yellow and gray together, I think it is a nice color combination. I liked how it turned out so I didn't end up recovering the cushion!! Easy transformation!! Have a great Wednesday!!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Happy Tuesday, everyone.....I normally don't blog on Tuesdays but I have been out of town a lot. It's summer and I have it off, so we (me and my husband) spend it up at our cottage about 2 or more hours away. It's located on a little lake that our kids have learned to ski and how to build campfires. So when the grand-kids aren't up there I have been a little busy doing some redoing....This old table was a redo. I really think its feminine and girly. Here is the before picture:

So I got busy. Had this can of oops paint and thought that pink was just the right color. I put a coat of kilz on the table and than painted it with the oops color which looks, I think just right. When the table was dry it still needed a little bit more attention, so I had painted gold on just the edges. but when I was done I thought it wasn't enough. So I painted the whole lip of the top and bottom of the table. I also painted the stem of the table the gold and brushed some gold on the feet.

I finally was satisfied with the end results. It turned out to be a sweet and feminine table, just right for a girly room. What do you think? Until next time, Dianne........

Monday, August 13, 2012

Happy Monday! Hope your doing well.... I know I've said it before...but summer is just flying by. We spent last weekend with friends cruising the sand dunes along Lake Michigan and Silver Lake. We were able to drive our truck onto the dunes and explore the area. I'm telling you, I've never seen anything like it. There were dune buggies, jeeps, 4X4 trucks, 4-wheelers, and other off road vehicles cruising around these dunes. These dunes look so serene and beautiful from across the lake and it's not until you get in the middle of them that it's another world. My son was in his glory watching vehicles cruise up steep hills, jump the dunes, pop wheelies and etc. It was quite the experience...I have to say I was a tad bit nervous that we were going to get stuck or collide into another vehicle. We camped near the dunes and had a great time. My son absolutely loves camping....getting to sleep in a tent and spend every minute outside. The weather was absolutely perfect....seventies and no bugs. Just awesome!!! Hope you enjoyed your weekend as well.

Anyways, I have a rocking chair make-over to share with you today. I found this chair off of craig's list awhile back. It has been sitting on my front porch for about a year now. The finish has worn off and it's starting to look a bit ragged. So, I decided that I would try and spruce it up. Here's the before picture of it.

I gave her a cleaning and then sprayed a coat of primer and then a couple coats of yellow spray paint. Here she is finished. It took me awhile to get used to the bright yellow....but it does look better. The color just pops from the road.

Have a wonderful week and make sure you soak up these last few weeks of summer......I know I will!!!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Good morning! It seems as if I'm thinking about using numbers when I craft, I always seem to go with the number three. I have a little family of three....maybe that's why??? I don't know....I always seem to gravitate toward it. Maybe it's more pleasing on my eye....?? Anyways, I recently redid this little box. I do love boxes as well and this one has a nice shape. It could be used to hold books, magazines, diapers, etc......Here she is before...

I gave it a coat of primer and then used two coats of white paint. I created a number three stencil, which was made using my cricut machine. I painted the number three in a light green color. Lastly, I distressed the box to my liking. Here is the after look.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Good evening!! Usually I try to get this post up in the morning but the day got away from me, seems like that is how summer days go. Also it doesn't help when you have a crabby six month old. :) All that aside I want to share with you a piece of furniture that I recently finished. I decided to paint it red, which in my eyes was a huge transformation, but of course I wasn't content with that. So I wanted to antique it with some light blue paint, or aqua. I love those two colors together. I then took some old vintage wall paper that I purchased at the flea market this spring and put it on the top. When I put the paper on the top I decided I liked it better without the railing so I left that off to update the piece. Last but not least I added a pull to the front because when it was missing when I bought it. I think the finished product came together well. I can't wait to do my next project with the same two colors. I think they complement each other. I hope you have a fabulous night!!

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About Me

Three gals that share the same interests for making something out of nothing. Dianne, Jackie, and Jessica are a mother-daughter team . We are just beginning to establish what we are and what we do. Years of working on projects for our own houses has turned into a passion that we now want to share with others with similar interests. Take some time and look through what we have created. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to contact us.
Contact us @ shabbygals@hotmail.com